There is a 3 month old female St. Bernard/Shepard mix at the humane society that am interested adopting. I haven’t met her yet, but she may be just what I need around here.
My elderly Great Dane died recently and I have room for another dog. I currently have a 5 yr. old female Dane, and a 1 year old male lab/herding dog cross.
I’m concerned about hip problems and temperament. Anyone have any experience with ST. Bernards and/or German Shepards?
I’ve never had a St. Bernard, but I’ve had a few Shepherds and Shepherd mixes. My first dog as a kid was a huge Shepher named Heidi. She was fiercely loyal to my family - so much so that she wouldn’t let other people near her “puppies” (aka, my sister and I, ages 6 and 4 respectively). My parents had to get rid of her because she tried to bit my cousin while she was playing with us. 
When I was older, we had a lab/shepherd mix my parents got from the MSPCA (Sam, the Best Dog Ever). He was a great dog, and never had any health problems until he got cancer at the age of 11. Before that he was always extremely healthy and active, and very loyal to us - he also loved other people. He started losing his hearing later in life, but that just gave him an excuse to be disobedient 
AFAIK (and IANAVet), shepherds have less hip and joint problems than Great Danes, but I don’t know about St. Bernards. As far as temperment goes, Shepherds are very loyal and intelligent, and usually easy to train. And YMMV, but I’ve never met a mean or unfriendly Shep.
Shepherds do have hip problems, but these are usually tempered by mixing. Purebreds tend to have more problems no matter what the breed.
My first dog was a shepherd/chow. Gorgeous, protective, loving. Spotted tongue.
Both Shepards and St. Bernards have lots of hip problems, so it would be likely that a cross would as well.
“Bernies” are usually laid back, gentle giants, so I’d guess that they would mellow out the Shepard vigilance. Much like Border Collie/Newfoundland Crosses.
In my experience (I am a vet, but don’t do small animal) ShepardX mixes tend to be hyper/eternal puppies. Their owners tend to love that about them. If you’re looking for a reserved Bernard type dog, you might not like that so much.
I had what we think was a St. Bernard/Lab mix, also a pound puppy. He was a wonderful dog.
I was actually the animal control officer that picked him up, a giant-footed, gangly pup. I fell in love with him right there, but I lived in an apartment. I did everything I could to find this dog a home; I put him in the newspaper and on TV, and called every breed rescue I could find. Nobody took him, and my boss bent the rules to let me keep him in the shelter for a little while knowing I wanted him, until I bought my house.
On the day I went in to get him (my day off) I had to drag him out of the killing room - seems that one of the other officers who didn’t like me had decided that I shouldn’t have him. I rescued him and never went back to work there after I had my first child (I was pregnant while this was going on, and would have gone back if not for the toxic people.)
He was the best dog, totally mellow yet very trainable. He never had hip problems, but he blew out both of his knees, probably due to his weight, and had to have pricey surgery. I lost him finally at eight due to a horrible skin infection that hadn’t responded to treatment and had made him miserable for years. He was a great dog, and I would adopt a St. Bernard mix again in a heartbeat.
I have a shep/dane mix (plus a rott/boxer mix and a full blood dane). Yes, he has hip problems (he’s 7 1/2). But the biggest problem with sheppherds (IMO) is shedding. It would probably be worse with the bernie/shep. I’m not trying to discourage you. I love shepherds and I’m sure it would be a great dog, just be prepared for lots of hair. Especially if you have wood floors - you’ll get dog hair tumbleweeds!
Thanks for all the quick replys. I hope to go meet this dog and another female they have this afternoon.
My 1 year old male is pretty dominant. That is why I want to get a female. I’ve heard that you’ll have less problems with “status” My 5 yr. old femail is fairly calm and timid. Has anyone else heard this, or am mistaken?
From a purely statistical point of view, I would be concerned about hip joint quality. Last stats I read, St Bernards have the worst OFA hip ratings, with Sheps in the top 10 also.
In my experience, shepherds are wonderful, very trainable dogs…if you work with them. If you don’t work with them and socialize them fairly intensively, they tend toward becoming fear biters. Their alertness and loyalty turns into what we sometimes call the “shepherd crazies.” They become neurotic and clingy and afraid of everything that’s not in their normal routine, and that fear can make them dangerous. But a well-trained, well-socialized shepherd is loving, devoted, and generally a joy to have around. Oh, and they tend to have big mouths–even the friendliest shepherd will bark and carry on something fierce when anyone or anything they consider to be unauthorized personnel comes near their territory. They’re just warning evildoers away from their flock, is all. And some of them sing along with any sirens they hear. It’s kinda cute–they have the funniest little voices when they howl.
They do tend toward hip dysplasia, though, as do St. Bernards, so this pup would be far more likely than, say, your average chihuahua to have hip issues. But that’s no guarantee that she’ll have issues, or that any issues she has will be severe. Another thing to keep in mind is that this is going to be one seriously hairy dog. In the spring, our shepherd doesn’t shed, she molts. If I don’t sweep every day, the dog hair gets ankle deep. The issue that would concern me most about this dog, though, is whether or not she’s going to have that St. Bennie drooling thing going on. I can’t handle the drooling. Those big slimey ropes of spit are just gross. I’d rather clean up diarrhea than those things.
Yes, my cross didn’t have too much of the drooling going on, but he did molt every year. I could have made a sweater out of him, and he wasn’t particularly long haired. I loved him anyway.
Dog hair and drool really doesn’t bother me much. Guests may not like it. Maybe that’s why I get so few visitors!
What Am I looking at if hip surgery is needed? Anybody have experience with Insurance for dogs?
My last dog was a German shepard/ Giant Schnauzer mix. Great friendly dog - but he really had the shepard barking habit.
I’ve always heard it’s a good idea to have your dogs help pick a new one - can you take them with you to the pound and see if they get along?
Our neighbor has a St. Bernard/black lab mix. The thing is just the biggest puppy and so adorable. I think he has passed the one year mark, but he is just a coiled black skinny spring. I loves him.
He treats the other family dog ( a lhasa apso) like a toy and drags him gently around and allows the 10 pound dog to bark his head off at him.(pure napoleon complex) It is vastly entertaining.
I would be concerned about drooling and possible eye lid problems.
Quite a bit of hip dysplasia can be managed medically, with anti-inflammatory drugs. In that sort of scenario, you’re looking at $30 or so a month. For surgery, it’s going to depend on what sort of surgery he winds up needing. Total hip replacement is a couple grand at least, and the recovery period is quite involved. I don’t know if something like a femoral head osteotomy (or is ostectomy? I can never quite remember) is an option or not, you’d have to have some films and talk to your vet about that. A lot of the cost depends on whether you have a boarded surgeon do the procedure or if you can find a non-boarded vet who will do it. The guy I used to work for did total hips for about $2000, FHOs for about $400. I’m not sure what the specialty clinic where I currently work charges, but I think it’s in the $3000-4000 range for a total hip and $800 for an FHO.
Well, I’ve been to see the dogs. The St. Bernard mix has already been adopted (Lucky girl) The other female dog there is little sweetheart and I’ve applied to adopt her. She’s a little 6 month old lab mix. She’ll probably be in the 35-40 lb range when done growing. I asked her, and she told me yes, she does like to sleep in the bed and each snacks, so things will work out well for us. We are all very excited.
Thankyou everyone for your input.